World War II, otherwise called World War II, was the conflict that affected virtually every part of the world during the long period 1939-1945. The main belligerents were the Axis powers – Germany, Italy and Japan – and the Allies – France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union and, to a lesser extent, China. It was the longest war in history, with over 100 million individuals serving in military units from over 30 different nations. In a state of "add to war", the leading members put all their financial, mechanical and logical capabilities to the benefit of the war effort, eradicating the trade between civilian and military resources. One of the main effects of the Second World War was the 40,000,000-50,000,000 deaths, which made it the bloodiest fight, as well as the largest war in history. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay World War II was started by Germany with an unprovoked attack on Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany after Hitler refused to stop his invasion of Poland. America's inclusion in World War II had a critical effect on the U.S. economy and workforce. Inclusion in the war soon changed that rate. American industrial structures were reorganized to create products capable of supporting the war effort, and almost overnight the unemployment rate dropped to about 10%. The world was forever changed by World War II, during which approximately sixty million people were killed, most of them civilians. The main victims of the war were civilians. For this reason, the protection of civilians during armed conflicts is considered a cornerstone of international humanitarian law. Generally, a civilian is any individual who is not a member of the armed forces. The definition of civilians can be seen in Article 50(1) of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 which stated that a civilian is any person who does not belong to any of the categories of persons referred to in Article 4(A). (1), (2), (3) and (6) of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949 and in Article 43 of this Protocol. Persons who fall under Article 4(A)(1),(2),(3) and include members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict, members of other militias and members of other voluntary societies. Also included are members of the regular armed forces who profess loyalty to a government or authority not recognized by the Detaining Power and the inhabitants of unoccupied territory who, upon the approach of the enemy, spontaneously take up arms to resist the forces of invasion, without having had time to form regular armed units, as long as they openly carry their weapons and respect the laws and customs of war. Furthermore, civilian does not include the armed forces and members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict as set out in Article 43 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Basically, if there is any doubt as to whether a person is considered as a civilian or not, that person will be considered a civilian. As has been stated previously, International Humanitarian Law was enacted to protect the rights of civilians in terms of war. It is known as a set of rules that regulate the treatment of victims of armed conflicts and limit the effects of armed conflicts, but does not include any internal tension or disturbance such as any acts of violence. International humanitarian law is a part of international law that regulates relations between people.